Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-12-07
THE NAN-GIN-TSIN.
A Description of the Largest Opium Don
in the Chinese Empire


i'm the Chinese Empire.
The Nam gin-tsin is the greatest
opium den in China. 1t is situated in
the French concession in Shanghai,
within stones throw of the wall of
the native city, within which no opium
shops are supposed to exist. The
throngs visiting it represent all sta
tions of life, from the coolie to the
wealthy merchant or the small man.
rim. 1t is with difficulty that one
gets inside through the crowds of
people hanging round the door. Those
who have not the requisite number of
copper cash to procure the baneful
pipe watch with horrible wistfulness
each of the more aft pass in with
a nervous, hurried step, or totter out
wearing that peculiar dazed express
sion which comes after the smokers
craving has been satisfied and his
transient pleasure has passed away.
One requires strong stomach to
stand the sickening fumes with which
the air inside is thickened The clouds
of smoke, the dim light f. m the
numerous color lamps, the numbers
of r. Ginning forms with distorted faces
bent over the small flames at which
the pipes are lighted, cause the novice
a sickening sensation.
But as soon as the eve becomes &C.
customed to the scene it is noticed that
the place is got up on an expensive
In no fro nf hO I~>I
hangs one of the finest of Chinese
lamps, the ceiling is of richly carved
wood, while the painted walls are
thickly inlaid with a peculiarly marked
marble, which gives the idea of unfin-
ished landscape sketches. Numerous
doors on all sides lead to the smokers
apartments. In the outer portion of
the building stands a counter covered
with little boxes of the drug ready for
smoking, which dozen assistants are
kept busy handing out to the servants
who wait upon the habitues of the
place. The average daily receipts are
said to be about 9200. The smoking
apartments are divided into four
classes. In the cheapest are coolies,
who pay about fourpence for their
smoke. In the dearest the smoke
costs about sevenpence. The drug
supplied in each class is much the
same both in quality and quantity; it
is the difference in the pipes that regu-
lates the price.
The rooms also are furnished &C
cording to class. In the most ex PEN
sive the lounge upon which the
smoker reclines is of fine velvet. with
pillows of the same material; the
frames of each couch are inlaid with
mother-of- pearl and jade, and the
whole air of these rooms is one of sem
suous luxury. There is also num-
Der of private rooms. In the poorer
section will be seen many wearers of
the tattered yellow and gray robes of
Buddhist and Tavist priests. Women
form fair proportion of the smokers.
The common belief is that the opium
sleep is attended by mild pleasure
BILE delirlum, with brief chances of
Elysium; but this is the exception. not
the rule. People smoke to satisfy the
craving begotten of previous indul-
gence. There is accommodation for one
hundred and fifty smokers at a time,
and there is seldom vacancy very
long. The streams of smokers goes
on from early morning till midnight,
when the place closes; the clouds of
smoke 60 up necessarily all day long.
NORTH China Herald.